Life is an ever-evolving and changing story. But, unfortunately, many of us don’t realize that learning to adapt and grow is also part of our life stories. Everything that happens in life has a purpose and a lesson to be discovered and learned. Meet Amber, a very successful woman who currently works at a Fortune 500 company. And this is a story of how she failed in her early academics. But eventually, with some life lessons, family misfortunes, and her dedications, she crawled back from these adverse situations and became more vital than ever.

The story began in the early 2000s. At the age of ten years old, Amber’s family immigrated to the United States from Mainland China. At first, her parents’ English was very limited, and therefore, they could only perform low-wage jobs. And because of that, they often live on a highly stringent budget. However, the tide turned in their favor a couple of years later when her dad finally landed a decent job at a clothing company—a place where her dad eventually stayed for nearly eight years. Amber, on the other hand, wasn’t doing very well in school. She was very playful, irresponsible, and childish at that time. She often made a mess in her room and was scolded by her mom a lot. And one of her favorite activities was playing computer games. She’d play games into very late nights and often without completing her school work. Her grades suffered tremendously due to these incomplete assignments and poor test scores. With that, time quickly flies by and fasts forwards to the early 2010s as her family purchased a house in a different city. Amber was reluctant to adapt to the new environment, and it was tough for her to fit in with the new classmates and establish a new social circle at the new school. And if that wasn’t bad enough, she started to fail her classes, and her grades took a sharp nosedive, and eventually, she had to drop out of high school.

The year is now 2013, and Amber has to face her first real challenge in life: finding a job. And without a high school diploma, her options diminished quickly. Nevertheless, after some time, she finally landed a job at a medical clinic working as a receptionist. Up until this point, she is pleased, and she is enjoying her life as a new entry into society. Her family finances have also improved with the extra supplemental income from Amber. But, as one famous saying goes, life always hits you hard unexpectedly. Unfortunately, Amber is not immune. Her short-lived happiness lasted for about a year when suddenly, her life took a dramatically sharp U-Turn for the worst; that is when her mom was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. And according to the doctor, the malignant tumor cells have already spread to the lymph nodes. This situation ultimately means that it has gone so wrong that the most daunting radiation and chemotherapy treatments are likely inevitable. If you think that this is the end of her misery, you couldn’t be more far off from her reality. A couple of months later, in early 2015, her dad suffered a medical condition called “Osteoporosis.”. It is essentially a chronic disease with no cure, and it will gradually worsen as the patient ages. And this medical condition has affected him so severely that he had to suspend his work indefinitely as he tries to recover. And eventually, her dad was laid off from the clothing company due to lack of attendance.

With that layoff, her family can no longer sustain a living. The most reliable source of income has disappeared. This dire financial situation continued to haunt the family in the years to come as her dad struggled to find a job due to age, even though her dad has recovered from this disease two years later. And due to Amber’s parents’ limited English literacy and the sheer frequency in which her mom has to be seen by an oncology doctor. Amber had no choice but to quit her job at the medical clinic and take on the role of translating for her parents and, specifically, for her mom. Aside from the possible mounting medical debts, Amber’s second-largest task is to tackle the family’s ever-deteriorating financial situation. Luckily, she found several government programs that could be beneficial to the family. The first government assistance that she found was a program that could potentially help pay for a family’s mortgage in times of need for up to twelve months, that is, under the condition that you agree to not sell the house for a period of six to seven years after receiving the assistance. The second assistance that she found was from the local county government. It is an assistance program to help low-income families and provide them with medical and nutritional relief. She then did a lot of research on these subjects. And through her impressive coordination, her family was subsequently approved. Eventually, with the help of these assistances, her mom prevailed and fully recovered from her battle with cancer. However, it has been a troublesome adventure after having gone through six therapies of chemo, twelve sessions of radiation, and the subsequent lumpectomy surgical procedures.

With the experiences of going through these difficult times, Amber has grown and learned a lot. She has learned the importance of being financially independent and the duty to take on family responsibilities. And as a result, her attitude towards life has changed significantly, and she has become increasingly mature, responsible, and capable. In addition to learning those life lessons, Amber has also discovered the power of perseverance. She eventually went back to school and obtained her bachelor’s degree, which has substantially contributed to her success in her future career endeavor.